Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo
Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo
47 Becoming and Being a Tattooed Person some bees in there. I ask, "Why do you want a bee? I don't think I have ever seen anyone come in here for one." He replies, ''I'm allergic to bees. If I get stung by one again I'm going to die. So I thought I'd come in here and have a big, meanlooking bee put on. I want one that has this long stinger and these long teeth and is coming in to land. With that, any bee would think twice about messing with me." Tattooees commonly represent the self by choosing designs that symbolize important personal involvements, hobbies, occupational activities, and so forth. In most street shops, the Winged insignia of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and variants on that theme are the most frequently requested images. During one particularly busy week in the major shop in which I was observing, a rabbit breeder acquired a rabbit tattoo, a young man requested a cartoon frog because the Little League team he coached was named the "frogs," a fireman received a fire fighter's cross insignia surrounded by flame, and an optician chose a flaming eye. No matter what the associational or self-definitional meaning of the chosen tattoo, the reCipient commonly is aware of the decorative/aesthetic function of the design. When I asked tattooees to explain how they went about choosing a particular design, they routinely made reference to aesthetic criteria-they "like the colors" or they "thought it was pretty." (I didn't get this tattoo) because of being bad or cool or anything like that. It's like a picture. You see a picture you like and you put it in your room or your house or something like that. It's just a piece of work that you like. I like the art work they do here. I like the color (on my tattoo). It really brings it out-the orange and the green. I like that-the colors. 7 A number of factors shape the tattooee's decision about where on the body the tattoo will be located. The vast majority of male tattooees choose to have their work placed on the arm. In his study of the tattoos carried by 2000 members of the Royal Navy, Scutt found that 98 percent had received their tattoo(s) on the arm (Scutt and Gotch, 1974: 96). In my own research, 55 percent of the questionnaire respondents received their first tattoo on
48 Becoming and Being a Tattooed Person the arm or hand (71 percent of the males and 19 percent of the females). The sixteen interviewees had, all together, thirty-five tattoos, twenty-seven of which were carried by the ten males. Eightyone percent (twenty-two) of the mens' tattoos were on their arms (of the remainder two were on hips, one was on the back, one on the face, and one on the recipient's chest). The six women interviewees possessed eight tattoos-three on the back or the shoulder area, three on the breast, one on an arm, and one on the lower back. Thirty-five percent of female questionnaire respondents received their first tattoo on the breast, 13 percent on the back or shoulder, and 10 percent on the hip (see Figure 1). Clearly, there is a definite convention affecting the decision to place the tattoo on a particular part of the body-men, for the most part, choose the arm while women choose the breast, hip, lower abdomen, back, or shoulder. To some degree the tendency for male tattooees to have the tattoo placed on the arm is determined by technical features of the tattoo process. Tattooing is a two-handed operation. The tattooist must stretch the skin with one hand while inscribing the design with the other. This operation is most easily accomplished when the tattoo is being applied to an extremity. Tattooing the torso is more difficult and, commonly, tattooists have an assistant who stretches the client's skin when work is being done on that area of the body. Technical difficulty, in turn, affects price. Most tattooists charge 10 to 25 percent more for tattoos placed on body parts other than the arm or leg. The additional cost factor probably has some effect on the client's choice of body location. Pain is another factor shaping the tattooee's decision. The tattoo machine contains needle groups that superficially pierce the skin at high speed, leaVing small amounts of pigment in the tiny punctures. ObViously, this process will cause more or less pain depending on the sensitivity of the area being tattooed. In general, tattooing arms or legs generates less pain than marking body areas with a higher concentration of nerve endings or parts of the body where the bones are not cushioned with muscle tissue. 8 The sex-based conventions regarding choice of body site are largely determined by the different symbolic functions of the tattoo for men and women. Women tend to regard the tattoo (com-
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47 Becoming and Being a <strong>Tattoo</strong>ed Person<br />
some bees in <strong>the</strong>re. I ask, "Why do you want a bee? I don't<br />
think I have ever seen anyone come in here for one." He replies,<br />
''I'm allergic to bees. If I get stung by one again I'm going to<br />
die. So I thought I'd come in here and have a big, meanlooking<br />
bee put on. I want one that has this long stinger and<br />
<strong>the</strong>se long teeth and is coming in to land. With that, any bee<br />
would think twice about messing with me."<br />
<strong>Tattoo</strong>ees commonly represent <strong>the</strong> self by choosing designs that<br />
symbolize important personal involvements, hobbies, occupational<br />
activities, and so forth. In most street shops, <strong>the</strong> Winged<br />
insignia of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and variants on that<br />
<strong>the</strong>me are <strong>the</strong> most frequently requested images. During one particularly<br />
busy week in <strong>the</strong> major shop in which I was observing, a<br />
rabbit breeder acquired a rabbit tattoo, a young man requested a<br />
cartoon frog because <strong>the</strong> Little League team he coached was<br />
named <strong>the</strong> "frogs," a fireman received a fire fighter's cross insignia<br />
surrounded by flame, and an optician chose a flaming eye.<br />
No matter what <strong>the</strong> associational or self-definitional meaning of<br />
<strong>the</strong> chosen tattoo, <strong>the</strong> reCipient commonly is aware of <strong>the</strong><br />
decorative/aes<strong>the</strong>tic function of <strong>the</strong> design. When I asked tattooees<br />
to explain how <strong>the</strong>y went about choosing a particular design,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y routinely made reference to aes<strong>the</strong>tic criteria-<strong>the</strong>y<br />
"like <strong>the</strong> colors" or <strong>the</strong>y "thought it was pretty."<br />
(I didn't get this tattoo) because of being bad or cool or<br />
anything like that. It's like a picture. You see a picture you like<br />
and you put it in your room or your house or something like<br />
that. It's just a piece of work that you like. I like <strong>the</strong> art work<br />
<strong>the</strong>y do here. I like <strong>the</strong> color (on my tattoo). It really brings it<br />
out-<strong>the</strong> orange and <strong>the</strong> green. I like that-<strong>the</strong> colors. 7<br />
A number of factors shape <strong>the</strong> tattooee's decision about where<br />
on <strong>the</strong> body <strong>the</strong> tattoo will be located. The vast majority of male<br />
tattooees choose to have <strong>the</strong>ir work placed on <strong>the</strong> arm. In his<br />
study of <strong>the</strong> tattoos carried by 2000 members of <strong>the</strong> Royal Navy,<br />
Scutt found that 98 percent had received <strong>the</strong>ir tattoo(s) on <strong>the</strong><br />
arm (Scutt and Gotch, 1974: 96). In my own research, 55 percent<br />
of <strong>the</strong> questionnaire respondents received <strong>the</strong>ir first tattoo on
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